Slide hammers are tools that include a weight that is attached to a shaft and can be slid up and down the shaft. Usually at at least one location along the shaft, there is a stop that the slide hammer is rammed against to stop the slide hammer and thereby exert a force on the tool.
For various applications it may be desirable to use various levels or degrees of force with the slide hammer. Changing the level of force exerted by the slide hammer can be done by increasing or decreasing the velocity at which the slide hammer hits the stop. However, in some applications it may be desirable to equip a slide hammer to be able to impart a much larger force against the stop that can normally be done with conventional slide hammers. Slide hammers are sometimes limited in the force that can exert against a stop by several factors. These factors may include the length the shaft in which the slide hammer is able to slide and the weight of the slide hammer.
Furthermore, in some instances, it may be desirable to have a slide hammer that can exert force in two directions. This may be accomplished by a tool that has two stops so that the slide hammer can be slid in one direction and then encounter to stop. The slid hammer can also be slid in the other direction along the shaft where it encounters a second stop and thereby allowing the slide hammer to exert forces on tools at either end of the tool depending upon which stop the slide hammer rams into.
In situations where slide hammers are able to exert forces in multiple directions the tools often need to be manufactured with the slide hammer in place before the stops are located on the tools. Otherwise, if the stops are placed on the shaft before the slide hammer has been mounted and placed, there is no way the slide hammer may be mounted on the tool using conventional slide hammer technology.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus that may allow a slide hammer to be altered so that it can impart different levels of force and activate it. Further, it may also be desirable to provide a slide hammer that may be constructed in such a manner, that the slide hammer may be mounted on the shaft of the tool after stops or other tool features have been manufactured on tool.